ᐅ Should you buy or rent an excavator for house construction and landscaping?

Hello everyone,

we are about to start construction on our new home. The plot is on a slope, so several cubic meters of soil need to be filled and leveled. We also want to do some tasks ourselves, such as partial drainage with flow restriction, open water pumping, filling approximately 1 meter (3 feet) of soil, and so on.

Now I’m wondering if it makes sense to buy an excavator and use it (possibly a smaller one) to complete the work at a relaxed pace. Alternatively, there are many rental companies nearby where renting an excavator for a day is not too expensive, and I can get exactly the size and type I need for the job. I can’t make a precise calculation because I don’t know the typical price for a used excavator or how much I could sell it for afterward.

So far, it seems appealing to have an excavator readily available to carry out the work without stress when time allows. On the other hand, the investment in a used machine should be reasonable, and there shouldn’t be major breakdowns during the construction phase.

What has been your experience? What did you do? Do you have any tips on where to find an affordable excavator that isn’t a complete wreck? Or am I completely off track, and renting is the best and most economical option?

I look forward to your opinions and suggestions.

Best regards,
Sven

Have you checked classified ads or AutoScout?

Hey...

Yes, I have reviewed all the websites I found. However, since I’m not an expert in construction machinery, it’s difficult for me to judge whether it’s a fair offer or if someone is trying to get rid of scrap metal and hazardous waste. I would have less trouble evaluating this with a car! :-(

Regards,
Sven

For the few days you need it, it's not worth the effort to buy and then sell it again.

I would rent.

Have you ever operated an excavator yourself?
Can you repair the excavator? With inexpensive used ones, you usually can't avoid repairs.

Ask your civil engineer or groundworker to offer you the hourly rate for an excavator with an operator.
My husband and I are both very unskilled excavator operators (and we can operate almost everything else). When I see what an experienced excavator operator can accomplish, we would need many times longer.

The problem with the slope was that, as always, an excavator was needed every few days. But paying the rental fee and transportation costs each time also gets expensive. We simply rented one together with the neighbors occasionally.
And when that wasn’t possible, we manually spread 20 cubic meters (26 cubic yards) of mineral concrete or 60 tons (66 US tons) of topsoil substrate.